Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

No evidence of pre-copulatory mate choice by gynes in the facultatively parthenogenetic ant Cataglyphis cursor

  • Short Communication
  • Published:
Insectes Sociaux Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Virgin queens (gynes) of the ant Cataglyphis cursor mate on the ground at the nest entrance, where they benefit from the protection of nestmate workers. By carrying out mating tests in the laboratory, we show that gynes mate with the first males they encounter, suggesting the absence of pre-copulatory mate choice by gynes. This is in agreement with the recent finding that workers behave aggressively towards foreign males and could thereby exercise a form of inclusive mate choice, which could replace pre-copulatory mate choice by gynes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

References

  • Baer B (2011) The copulation biology of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecol News 14:55–68

    Google Scholar 

  • Boomsma JJ (2007) Kin selection versus sexual selection: why the ends do not meet. Curr Biol 17:673–683

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boomsma JJ (2013) Beyond promiscuity: mate-choice commitments in social breeding. Philos Trans R Soc B 368:2–21

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boomsma JJ, Baer B, Heinze J (2005) The evolution of male traits in social insects. Annu Rev Entomol 50:395–420

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chéron B, Cronin AL, Doums C, Fédérici P, Haussy C, Tirard C, Monnin T (2011) Unequal resource allocation among colonies produced by fission in the ant Cataglyphis cursor. Ecology 92:1448–1458

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cronin A, Monnin T, Haussy C, Doums C (2011) Opportunities for mate choice in the fission-performing ant Cataglyphis cursor. Ecol Entomol 36:522–525

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson DW (1982) Sexual selection in harvester ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Pogonomyrmex). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 10:245–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • den Boer SPA, Baer B, Boomsma JJ (2010) Seminal fluid mediates ejaculate competition in social insects. Science 327:1506–1509

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doums C, Cronin AL, Ruel C, Fédérici P, Haussy C, Tirard C, Monnin T (2013) Facultative use of thelytokous parthenogenesis for queen production in the polyandrous ant Cataglyphis cursor. J Evol Biol 26:1431–1444

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Franks NR, Hölldobler B (1987) Sexual competition during colony reproduction in army ants. Biol J Linn Soc 30:229–243

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helft F, Monnin T, Doums C (2015) First evidence of inclusive sexual selection in the ant Cataglyphis cursor: worker aggressions differentially affect male access to virgin queens. Ethology 121:1–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lenoir A, Querard L, Pondicq N, Berton F (1988) Reproduction and dispersal in the ant Cataglyphis cursor (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Psyche 95:21–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oppelt A, Heinze J (2007) Dynamics of sperm transfer in the ant Leptothorax gredleri. Naturwissenschaften 94:781–786

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pearcy M, Aron S, Doums C, Keller L (2004) Conditional use of sex and parthenogenesis for workers and queen production in ants. Science 306:25–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sunamura E, Hoshizaki S, Sakamoto H, Fujii T, Nishisue K, Suzuki S, Terayama Y, Tatsuki S (2011) Workers select mates for queens: a possible mechanism of gene flow restriction between supercolonies of the invasive Argentine ant. Naturwissenschaften 98:361–368

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank C. Haussy for helping with colony collection, R. Péronnet for helping in rearing the ants, and A. L. Cronin for linguistic help.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UMR 7618 Institute of Ecology and Environmental Sciences of Paris, 75005, Paris, France

    F. Helft & T. Monnin

  2. Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, ISYEB, UMR 7205, CNRS, UPMC, École Pratique des Hautes Études, MNHN Département Systématique et Évolution, 45 rue Buffon, CP 39, 75005, Paris, France

    F. Helft & C. Doums

Authors
  1. F. Helft
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. C. Doums
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. T. Monnin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to F. Helft.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 100 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Helft, F., Doums, C. & Monnin, T. No evidence of pre-copulatory mate choice by gynes in the facultatively parthenogenetic ant Cataglyphis cursor . Insect. Soc. 63, 199–201 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-015-0444-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-015-0444-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation